House committee approves ban on same-sex marriages

MONTGOMERY | A House committee Wednesday approved a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as being between a man and a woman and outlaw same-sex marriages.

The bill passed the House Constitution and Elections Committee without dissent, but committee members broke into a partisan fight over whether to hold the referendum on the amendment during the Nov. 2 presidential election.

The committee passed the amendment, sponsored by Rep. Yusuf Salaam, D-Selma, on a 12-0 vote, with two abstentions. The state already has a law defining marriage, but the measure approved by the committee would etch that definition into the constitution. The amendment now goes to the full House.

"I believe this is good for Alabama and good for America," said Salaam, the only Muslim member of the Legislature.

The bill was proposed by Rep. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, after a ruling by the highest court in Massachusetts mandated that the Legislature in that state approve a system for marriages between gay couples.

Salaam's amendment is similar to a measure proposed by Allen to ban gay marriages. His bill would have also prohibited courts from changing the definition of marriage. That language was not included in Salaam's/samendment.

"I believe marriage is supposed to be between one man and one woman and is the bedrock of our society," Allen said.

While committee members were in agreement on the definition of marriage, they were far apart when it came to setting a date for a referendum to decide the issue.

The bill sets the referendum for the date of party primary elections in 2006, but Republicans moved to change that date to Nov. 2, the date of this year's presidential election. Democrats opposed moving the referendum, saying Republicans would use the gay marriage referendum as an issue to help re-elect President Bush.

"This is about getting this on the presidential ballot so George Bush can talk about same-sex marriage instead of talking about job losses," said Rep. Randy Hinshaw, D-Huntsville.

But Republicans said they were interested in giving as many people as possible a chance to vote on the same-sex marriage issue.

"I don't know why Democrats are afraid to have this voted on in the general election when most people vote," said Rep. Blaine Galliher, R-Gadsden.

The committee voted 7-6, along party lines, to hold the referendum in 2006.